Mike Heika, Stars beat writer for The Dallas Morning News and SportsDayDFW.com, offers his analysis of the players on the team's roster in a series leading up to training camp.

* * *

Name: Mark Fistric

Position: Defense

Ht/wt: 6-2, 232

Birthdate: June 1, 1986 (Age 25)

Experience: Four in the NHL, all with the Stars

2011-12 salary and contract status: One year at $1.25 million. He is a restricted free agent after that.

2010-11 review: He was all over the place, with 13 healthy scratches, a 10-game injury stint for a sore back, a three-game rehab stint in the minors, three games missed because of illness and a one-game absence for a head injury.

2011-12 outlook: This could be the make-or-break season on whether he stays with the Stars.

Fun fact about player: Thinks he might have made a pretty good firefighter had he not played hockey.

* * *

It often seems Mark Fistric walks around with a cloud above his head.

He tries and tries and tries to break through and become one of the Stars’ core players, and every time it seems something gets in his way.

Fistric (the 28th overall pick in 2004) appeared set to become a part of the Stars' regular roster in 2007, when Matt Niskanen (the 28th overall pick in 2005) stepped in front of him, sparked some chemistry with Sergei Zubov and earned a spot on the roster. That meant Fistric had to split his time between the NHL and AHL that season, but more importantly, it meant Niskanen could not be moved to the minors without waivers after that.

Because Dallas kept seeking answers on defense and hoping that Niskanen would be able to become a top-minute defenseman, Fistric then split the next season between the NHL and the AHL again (this time, in a transitional stint with the Manitoba Moose). He gained valuable experience, and it appeared he would use a run to the AHL Finals with the Moose as a springboard to better things.

He played 67 games with the Stars in 2009-10 under coach Marc Crawford and led the Stars at plus-27.

But something happened last season. Fistric didn’t wow coaches the way he did the previous season, and he ended up losing his job to Jeff Woywitka. Fistric had 13 healthy scratches, missed 10 games with a back injury and had assorted other ailments that allowed him to play just 57 games. It was a severe speedbump on the path to where everyone expected Fistric to be headed.

But, he just turned 25, the team has a new coach in Glen
Gulutzan, and the feeling was that Fistric just needed a summer to get healthy
and he would be one of the guys who would play every night, right?

Cue the dark cloud.

When the free agency fury settled down this summer, the Stars had added Sheldon Souray and Adam Pardy to the mix on defense. Souray is a three-time All-Star who is determined to prove to the league he still has plenty left at age 34, while Pardy is a former Gulutzan player who signed for $2 million a season.

If you’re putting this together on paper, that means they both just slid ahead of Fistric on the depth chart and he’s sitting as the No. 7 defenseman again. What’s more, with youngsters Philip Larsen and Brenden Dillon pushing hard from the minors, that’s not a comfortable place to be.

But, there is a chance it is the perfect motivation for the hard-luck Fistric. As much as the Stars have some established defensemen in Stephane Robidas, Nicklas Grossman, Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley, as well as the aforementioned Souray and Pardy, there’s no reason Fistric can’t play as well or better than any of them. He has shown in his career that he can be a physical presence (173 hits in 57 games last season), as well as a decent enough skater to keep up with the speed of the new NHL. If the Stars want to be "hard to play against,’’ as GM Joe Nieuwendyk says, Fistric can definitely help that cause.

And that’s how he has to look at this season - like it’s the biggest opportunity of his career, and he has to prove to everyone just how good he is. Fistric is not going to dazzle with offensive skill (he has 3 goals and 18 assists for 21 points in 197 career NHL games), but he certainly can do some things that other Stars players can’t. With Skrastins’ departure, there should be available time on the penalty kill. With Robidas possibly picking up more time on the power play, his PK minutes might also be available.

Bottom line, Gulutzan and assistant coach Paul Jerrard are ready to be wowed. They typically spread minutes on defense and they put a lot of pressure on their defensemen to lead the team, and Fistric will be able to go a long way if he shows the coaches that he is the best way for them to win.

Because Souray has just a one-year deal, and because both he and Pardy have had injury problems in the past, I don’t see the Stars trading one of their defensemen right now. While Fistric would draw a lot of interest, Nieuwendyk believes in having veteran depth on defense and wants to be prepared in case of an injury. That means that there could be at least one NHL caliber defenseman who is getting a healthy scratch for the Stars nearly every game.

It’s up to Mark Fistric to try to make sure he’s not that guy this year - and that could produce the best season we’ve seen from him.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.